Outcomes

Alberta

In Alberta, the Ministry of Human Services oversees the delivery of child intervention services provided by 8 regional Child and Family Service Authorities (CFSAs), one of which is a Métis Authority, under the Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act (CYFEA). Seventeen Delegated First Nations Authorities (DFNAs) also provide services under CYFEA through agreements between the First Nations, the Government of Canada and the Government of Alberta. The Child and Family Services Authorities Act (2000), regulated in 2004, was the result of a series of policy initiatives designed to increase services to families before they reach crisis, establish permanent homes more quickly for children in government care and strengthen the involvement of First Nation, Métis and other Aboriginal communities in planning for their children. A key feature of the reform was the implementation of the Alberta Response Model (ARM), a differential response system with two legislated streams of activity: family enhancement services and protection services. For more information, please see the information sheet on Alberta's child welfare system.

§ Child welfare services fall under the jurisdiction of provincial and territorial authorities, making it difficult to compile statistics at the national level. The most notable variations between provinces include mandate variation by jurisdiction with respect to the age to which children are eligible for services, differences in the length of time a child can receive out-of-home care and the definition of out-of-home care.

The director of the CWRP, Professor Nico Trocmé, has just won the SSHRC Connection Award for his work building research capacity in child welfare organizations to improve child welfare services and outcomes.

Information Sheets

Click here to access more than 80 concise information sheets on Canadian child welfare.